Valentine
by Makoza Black
Summary: Hiei never did understand human traditions. Perhaps Valentine's Day could be the one to change his mind. After all, any mindset could change when you get to spend such a holiday with a certain youko.


**A/N:** Hey, guys! Makoza here! Long time no see, huh? XD Sorry for such a long absence, but stuff happens ya know? Well anyway, I'm here with a new little something I wrote for Valentine's day, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

**Warnings:** This story contains BL/Yoai(Boy Love/MaleXMale), if you do not like such content, please refrain from reading, or otherwise simply don't respond. I don't wanna hear how 'such and such aren't gay'. This is my fanfic, I'll write it as I see fit. Emphasis on 'Fanfic'. Even if it isn't canon, I'll write my 'fan'fic however I like.

This story also contains a few OCs that were either added for the moment needed, or simply because I wished to add them there, I don't I crossed the lines of any 'sue' with these, however if I did, I apologize, I didn't mean for it to happen.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own anything within this story expect for the storyline and a few inserted characters, everything else belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi. Trust me, if I did own this masterpiece of a series I wouldn't be sitting here writing fanfics for it. XP

Oh, and one last thing. While criticism is allowed, please don't just point out the faults in this story. Give me something to work off of to make my writing better. And while there may be a few mistakes, please don't judge them too harshly. I don't have a Beta so I do this all on my own and I can only do so much.

Anyway, please enjoy this little oneshot of mine, and please R&amp;R. Because reviews are love, reviews are life!

**UPDATE:** Went back through and mixed a lot of mistakes I missed the first time around. Hope the ones I found didn't make this story too unreadable. XP

* * *

The day was a calm one. Clear skies and fair weather made for a rather active day for the citizens of the small city. The park, in particular, was especially busy. There was still a chill to the air, however, as it was still the middle of February. Most were still donning jackets and long-sleeved clothing. Though the slight nip in the air was never something that bothered the fire demon. He was currently perched on the higher branches of a small tree that lined one of the sides of a small walkway. His arms folded behind his head to act as a makeshift pillow as his crimson gaze stared down at the many humans as they passed by him completely unaware of his presence.

Hiei let out a slow sigh as he turned his head away and closed his eyes. Nothing seemed different, this world of humans was a rather boring place and he would have much rather been in the Makai than here, but he had promised Kurama that he would stay for a while and Hiei was never one to break a promise. He didn't know why he had let the fox talk him into staying, did he not have a duty to perform back at the border? At least there he was making something useful of himself instead of just resting on his ass in some tree, in some park, in this damned weakling infested dimension.

The sudden sound of high pitched giggling drew Hiei out of his brooding. Something he was both grateful and resentful for. Turning a glare below him, Hiei found a small group of human females gathering around the base of the tree he was in. The small yokai had to resist the urge to tell them off and to find somewhere else to do their repulsive shrieking, but he would neither lose nor prosper in doing so, so he kept his comment to himself. Plus he'd rather not have to explain to them how he'd gotten up there in the first place.

"Oh, Shiemi, where did you find the time to make this?" one of the females, a blonde Hiei noted, exclaimed as she looked over a small package in another of the girls' hands. It was a small square box wrapped in brightly colored paper with small red hearts covering it.

"I got it done last night, I had to cram and make sure my parents were asleep every five minutes, but I got it done!" the one holding the box, a dark haired girl, answered, holding the box a little higher so that all of her friends could see it. "I even made the wrapping paper myself, isn't it pretty?" All of her friends nodded in agreement.

It wasn't long after that the girls moved on, probably going to school. It was still early, Hiei noticed, he hadn't been out there as long as he had originally thought. With that in mind, he quickly stood and flitted from the branch, maybe he could still catch Kurama before he left for his job. Dashing from rooftop to rooftop, Hiei made his way through the small city, headed for the small section of houses on the outskirts of it. Usually, he hardly paid any mind to the humans as he flashed by them, their daily matters never catching his attention long enough to hold him in place for more than a millisecond. However, it seemed that it wouldn't be that way this time.

As he was just about to dash to another small store's roof, Hiei noticed another group of girls similar to the one from the park, all of them holding onto small, brightly wrapped, boxes as they hurried on their way to school. They were talking among themselves, so they were obviously another group of friends. They alone weren't what had caught Hiei's attention however, it was the fact that there were many other small groups just like them. Most had two to three girls, but others were larger. The strange thing was that all of them were carrying around the small wrapped boxes. Raising a brow, Hiei snorted. What did it matter to him? Pushing the thought back for now, Hiei turned and continued on his way. It didn't take him long to reach the Minamino residence.

The leaves on the tree branch shook as the sudden weight landed upon it. The branch itself hardly moved, however, having long since grown used to the sudden appearances of the fire demon. Peering through the window into Kurama's room, Hiei noticed the fox was strangely absent. He was typically always waiting for him by the window when he got there, usually Kurama could feel his energy for at least three blocks before Hiei ever came into his line of sight. The fire demon knew this because the fox had mentioned it once before. Was it possible he had missed Kurama and the fox had, in fact, already left for his human job?

Frowning, Hiei sent out a quick outburst of his energy and immediately got a returning call. No, the fox was still in the house. Not a moment later, Kurama stepped through his bedroom door and walked over to the window, opening it.

"Hiei, welcome," he greeted as the fire demon stepped through the threshold and into the room. "You could have just used the front door you know, Shiori knows of you now, so there's no need to be secretive anymore."

"Hn," Hiei snorted in response. He knew very well that Shiori knew of him, it wasn't like he had ever truly tried to hide his presence from Kurama's human family in the first place. He also knew that both Kurama's step-father and step-brother knew of him as well. "Yes, I suppose I could, but I find the window more convenient, it places me right where I need to be without having to deal with your mother fawning over me every time I come,"

Kurama gave a nervous laugh at that statement. Hiei was never going to let him live that particular moment down was he?

'No,'

Kurama frowned, he could practically hear the smirk in Hiei's mental message, looking up he found that said smirk was actually donning the jaganshi's face. "That 'particular moment' as you put it, Kurama, was actually quite enjoyable for me," Hiei shifted his weight as he tilted his head back in that proudful way of his, "I must say Kurama, I'm surprised you had actually kept your little secret for as long as you had without her finding out, what with the way you act and all. I can honestly say I hadn't meant to let it slip, but her expression and your fumbling to explain had been, as you would put it, 'priceless'."

Hiei's smirk only widened as the fox gave a sudden lunge at him, from the motion of the movement it was obviously playful, and Hiei easily dodged it. 'Stepping gently to the side', he let out a half-hearted laugh as he and Kurama began a game of cat and mouse, with Kurama being the chaser and Hiei easily side-stepping his every move. It wasn't often that Hiei let this playful side of himself out in the open, and it was usually only the fox who could bring it out, and from Kurama's expression it was clear the fox was happy that he was able to make this side of him come out.

Kurama made another lunge, and Hiei quickly moved out of the way of it, but it appeared as if the fire demon had misjudged his surroundings and his foot caught on the side of Kurama's desk chair causing him to lose his footing.

"Damn!" he cursed as he hit the ground, hard. Kurama stopped mid stride and turned toward his fallen friend, his expression now full of concern.

"Hiei! Are you hurt?" Kurama was at his side instantly, checking him over for injury.

"No," Hiei answered as he sat up, rubbing his head slightly despite saying that he wasn't hurt, which in truth he wasn't, it would have to take a lot more than an office chair to cause the fire demon pain. "Heh, you win this round fox, but don't expect to be so lucky next time, I just let myself get too relaxed, it won't happen again." Hiei suddenly leaned forward, catching the tip of Kurama's nose with his teeth. Making the fox rear back sharply.

"Hiei!" he scolded, though there was no bite to his tone, "if I am the one who won, why am I the one getting bit?" it wasn't a legitimate question, and Hiei knew that, still he answered all the same.

"Was I not the mouse, Kurama?" he asked, tilting his head with a smirk, "mice have wicked teeth or have you forgotten that? And any animal will bite when cornered, you'd figure you, a fox of all things, would know that."

"Hmm," Kurama hummed softly, whipping away a drop of blood off his nose with a finger. "I suppose, but if I recall correctly, Hiei, I was the cat and cats toy with their prey. Never killing it until their twisted game of catch and release is finished. Besides, I believe you are the one who has forgotten something, Hiei." Kurama's smile turned sinister as he began to advance on the fire demon.

"Oh? And what is that?" Hiei asked though he didn't really care. His mind was currently too focused on the look in Kurama's emerald green gaze to care.

"Cats have claws," crimson widened slightly, as the distance between them was suddenly closed. Kurama's lips crashed into Hiei's and it seemed that one simple statement had sealed the jaganshi's fate. He felt Kurama's arms snake around him, his fingers digging harshly into the fabric of his cloak as if they were the claws he'd just spoken of. Hiei's own arms quickly found their own places with one hand weaving it's way into silky blood locks and the other placed over the fox's pulse point, his fingers feeling the steady thump of Kurama's heartbeat.

It seemed their brief moment of passion was to be short-lived, however, as just as Hiei made a move to deepen the kiss further, the door was suddenly forced open to reveal Kurama's human mother, Shiori, with her husband, Kazuya following close behind.

"Shuichi, are you alright? I heard a loud thud and I... oh," what had at first been a slightly frantic voice slowly faded into a stunned silence. It was quite obvious that neither of them had expected the scene they got.

Kurama quickly pulled himself away from Hiei and was a good three foot away from him at near inhuman speed, luckily it seemed he was still mindful that he was indeed supposed to be human and kept his movements at a somewhat human speed. "Mother... Um..." Kurama trailed off, biting his lip as he flushed as bright red as his hair, his eyes downcast as he thought of something to say.

Hiei on the other hand just looked annoyed at having been interrupted. He could care less if the fox's human parents knew of what they were doing or were about to do. It wasn't like it should have been that much a shock, right? Shiori knew that Kurama was gay, that was what had brought up the whole cat and mouse thing anyway, was Hiei bringing up the moment he'd accidentally let slip that he was Kurama's partner. Shiori had taken it a different way than the fire demon had meant it, but it wasn't a lie that he was intimate with Kurama. In fact, intimate would have been a light way of putting what the two of them were known to do behind closed doors. And Hiei was sure Shiori would have told her husband about it, so he didn't see what the problem was.

"What is going on here?" Kazuya asked as he looked between the two demons, his dark brown gaze that of a very stern parent who'd just caught their child doing one of the most unthinkable of crimes. Hiei stared back at him with a level gaze of his own. Maybe Shiori hadn't told him about him and Kurama.

"Well," Kurama moved to begin, but Hiei cut him off.

"What does it look like?" he asked, his annoyance clear in his tone, "What's the matter, Kazuya, never seen a kiss before?"

"Hiei!" Kurama's voice was clearly one of genuine apprehension.

"What?" Hiei responded harshly, "it was a legitimate question, I really..."

"Now there will be none of that!" Shiori's voice cut Hiei off as she stepped forward to cut her husband off as well. "Kazuya, I know this may come as a shock, but you have to understand..."

"Understand what? That my step-son is a..." Kazuya had begun, but the glare Hiei sent his way quickly shut him up.

"Say it, and you'll regret it," Hiei's gaze was turned away as Kurama suddenly stood up, his own expression having turned hard though it wasn't the glare that Hiei held.

"Please stop this, all of you," Shiori turned to her son and offered a weak smile which he returned gratefully, "Yes, father, as you can see I am attracted to other males intimately, and Hiei is my partner. Has been for a little over six years now."

Hiei had to smirk at the hidden message Kurama had added to the last part of his statement. In other words, Hiei had been there longer than Kazuya had and he'd either just have to get over it or he was just shit outta luck.

The business man looked between his wife, step-son, and Hiei, before giving a short huff of defeat. "Fine," he breathed turning to Shiori with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I suppose I overreacted a bit."

"A bit?" Hiei interrupted, but he was quickly hushed by Kurama.

"Ahem, anyway, though I may not approve, it would have been nice to have been informed ahead of time instead of finding out by walking in on them." Shiori smiled sheepishly giving a light shrug.

"Shuichi wanted to tell you himself, I didn't think it would take him so long to do so, and I'll agree, that wasn't the most pleasant of ways to learn that your son is gay." She smirked over toward her son and Hiei. Kurama blushed while Hiei just snorted. "But don't feel too bad, Shuichi hadn't told me himself either, Hiei was the one who let it slip." This time Kurama snickered while Hiei's cheeks colored slightly.

"Anyway, shouldn't you two be getting ready for work? Your shift starts soon and it wouldn't look very good for the head of the business to be late for his own meeting," Shiori ushered Kazuya from the room and turned back to her son smiling brightly, "hurry along Shuichi! Oh, and Hiei, feel free to stick around for lunch if you want, you're always welcome to join us."

"Yes mother," Kurama said, nodding as he watched them leave. He quickly shut the door behind them making sure to lock it. He turned and leaned back against it, his eyes closed with his arm coming up to cover his face. "Well, that was eventful."

"Hn," was his only answer. He looked up to find Hiei had moved to his usual place of sitting on the windowsill.

"Hiei, come now. Trust me that could have ended a lot worse, at least he didn't threaten to kick neither me nor you out of the house." Kurama smiled softly as he walked over to his lover, placing his hand lightly on the fire demon's shoulder.

"Hn, like he could have succeeded," Kurama laughed at that and turned his attention to the window.

"I assume you'll leave as soon as I do, correct?" he asked as he watched a former classmate wave up to him as she passed by.

"Maybe," Hiei said as he noted that she too was carrying one of those small boxes from earlier. "I've actually come to like your mother's cooking."

Kurama chuckled as he pulled away, "fine, just don't cause Suichi any problems, okay? The last time you dropped by while I was away you nearly gave the poor boy a heart attack and I ended up with some singed bed sheets."

"Hn," Hiei snorted, his gaze still focused outside the window. "Kurama?" he called after a moment of silence.

"Yes?" Kurama answered. He was just finishing up packing his briefcase with the things he would need at Kazuya's business meeting.

"Why are all the human females carrying around colorful boxes?" Hiei's eyes were still focused on the window, but it was clear all of his attention was on Kurama.

"Oh, that's because today is Valentine's day," he smiled as he closed the case and snapped the locks in place.

"Valentine's day?" Hiei repeated as if testing the word out on his tongue. With a snort, he finally tore his gaze away from the window.

"Yes, it's a human holiday. It is a day where all human girls make home-made chocolates and present them to those they love, namely males mostly, particularly those they have romantic feelings for and those they have great affection towards." Kurama gave a shrug, he'd never really participated in the holiday himself, though he had received plenty of chocolates during his high-school years.

"The males' turn comes on White Day. One month from now, on March 14th, all human males will buy gifts to give to their female counterparts as a means of thanks for the chocolates they will receive today. Though, there are some, not many I might add, that follow the customs of the western countries where both males and females give out their gifts to one another today."

Kurama looked up to find that Hiei had gone back to looking out the window. "Yes, yes, I know not your type of thing. It's not particularly mine either, but it isn't polite to turn down the chocolates when they are offered." He gave a shrug as he turned to leave. "Anyway, time for me to go, will you be here when I return?" he asked as Hiei gave a shrug in response, "well, if you do leave, my shift ends at six this evening if you wish to return later."

When he got no further response, Kurama turned and headed for the door, "well then, goodbye, Hiei," he smiled as the fire demon turned to look at him.

"Bye, fox," Hiei waved him off and as soon as the door shut, he was gone.

* * *

Kurama signed as the door's latch locked into place. The very moment the slight 'click' sounded, Hiei's energy was gone, moving farther and farther away. Kurama should have known better than to think Hiei would stay after he was gone. The fire demon had never liked being there by himself, he'd even voiced his discomfort a few times in the past. The last of which being the last time he'd dropped by while Kurama was still at work, needless to say, it was a very difficult thing to explain to his mother why the ends of his bedsheets were now burnt black. And it was an even harder task of erasing Suichi's memory of Hiei's fire power.

Giving a small chuckle to himself, Kurama gave his head a quick shake. No matter how amusing past memories may be, Kurama had a place he needed to be. Walking down the stairs and into the living room, Kurama found his younger brother playing a video game. He frowned for a moment before walking over.

"Shouldn't you be in school?" he asked glancing at the game the boy was playing, Goblin City. Giving a slight snort, Kurama had to resist the urge to laugh at the irony.

Suichi glanced up at Kurama briefly before turning his eyes back to the game. "Yeah, but it seemed there was some sort of fire last night and they closed classes until tomorrow so they can get things cleaned up. Everyone got the day off to do as they pleased."

"Hmm," Kurama hummed softly. He wondered where the fire might have come from, perhaps a student who'd stayed behind to study in the lab? Kurama blinked once as his name was called, it didn't matter, he hadn't been in school for a few years now, what happened there no longer concerned him.

"Yes," he called back in answer as his mother and Kazuya walked out of the kitchen, Kazuya now dressed in his own dress suit.

"It's time to go, Shuichi, I assume you're ready?" Kazuya asked as he walked by Kurama headed for the front door.

"Yes, actually. Hiei left shortly after you two left the room, saying something along the lines of the mood had been ruined," Kurama smirked at the look Kazuya gave him.

"Shuichi!" Shiori scolded playfully, Kurama chuckled in response.

"Sorry, mother, I couldn't resist," the fox laughed a moment longer before Kazuya cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, time's wasting and we have a meeting to get to," he rose a brow as he nodded at Kurama.

"Yes, of course," Kurama followed his step-father out the door, but just before he grasped the handle to close it, he turned back to his mother. "Farewell, mother. Try not to work yourself too hard while we are gone."

"Of course, Shuichi. You have a good day at work now," she smiled after him softly as he waved her off. The door slowly falling shut behind him.

* * *

The ride to work was an uneventful one. The youko turned human spent most of it simply staring out the window, watching as various sceneries went by. Every now and then, Kazuya would pose a question as a means to end the seemingly awkward silence. Kurama could tell that it was only awkward for his step-father because of his recent discovery about his step-son. For the fox, though, the silence was peaceful and relaxed, but then again there was hardly ever a time where Kurama was truly tense. Kurama would answer the given questions to the best of his knowledge. Which Kazuya was completely outranked in, though Kurama did know how to play dumb when need be. He hadn't spent 20+ years in the human world without being found out for nothing.

"How long have you known Hiei for?"

The question was so sudden that it drew Kurama from his sight-seeing, he looked over to his step-father with a frown before deciding that it was just a harmless wish for such knowledge. "Well, let's see. I met Hiei when I was fourteen, he was on a quest to find his younger sister," Kurama spoke as he stared forward, though it was clear he didn't see what was in front of him. After a moment he quickly added, "they had been separated in foster care after their mother died. Hiei had been moved around a lot and eventually lost track of Yukina, we just happened to cross paths while he was looking into one of the houses she'd been put in." He had realized how odd the word 'quest' might have been in his previous statement.

"After that I didn't see anything of him for a year. Then one day, he seemed to appear out of nowhere, needing my help in a school project of all things," Kurama added in a chuckle as he lied smoothly about the way he and Hiei had been reunited. "We've been friends ever since then, so I would say I've known him for about eight, nine, years now."

"Mmhm," Kazuya nodded slowly, brows raised as he pursed his lips. That was obviously not the answer he had been expecting.

"Is there anything else you'd like to know about me and Hiei?" Kurama asked, turning his head to look at Kazuya's profile.

The man appeared to think it over for a moment. Kurama could practically see the gears turning in his head as he thought. It was always funny in a way, to watch someone like Kazuya mull over the idea of someone like him 'swinging the other way' as it was commonly put. To be honest, the fox had never thought it was an all that difficult thing to grasp. After all he had never showed much interest in the affections of the girls in his high school, and paid even less attention to Kazuya's secretaries when they would fawn over him, or make not so subtle hints that they wanted in his pants. He was always content to let them off easy, or simply ignore them in the case of the secretaries.

In truth, Kurama was like most demons. Content to take company from either sex, but usually preferring one over the other. Kurama just happened to prefer male company over female, he always had. It was one of the reason that during his time as a bandit, he never had any female partners. It was also one of the reasons why Kuronue's death had hit him as hard as it had. Yes, he and Kuronue were more than just partners in crime, they were actually partners in a lot of things and being partners in the bed just happened to be one of those things. Kurama had loved Kuronue, had loved him greatly, and still did, in a way. Though if he were to be asked who he loved more, Kuronue or Hiei, the answer would be Hiei. It would always be Hiei.

"Would you two ever consider getting married?"

"What?" Kurama asked before the question even fully registered in his head. For the second time that day Kazuya had caught him off-guard. The fox made a mental note to stop getting lost in thought while he was around his step-father. For a moment, he actually considered the question. It was never something he and Hiei had ever openly discussed, in fact, it had never been brought up. Both were simply content to enjoy each other's company while they had it. Plus, Kurama was no fool, he knew Hiei would occasionally slip off to visit Mukuro, the fact that Hiei spent more time in the Makai than he did in the living world didn't help the matter. And while Kurama was naturally envious of the relationship the former slave held with Hiei, Kurama knew where the fire demon's loyalties lay.

"Would you two ever consider getting married?" Kazuya repeated the question. "Going deaf are we now, Shuichi? Or is your head too stuck in the clouds to listen to me?" He had misinterpreted what Kurama's outburst had meant, it wasn't that Kurama hadn't heard the question, it was that it had caught him so off-guard that he had spoken without thinking.

"No, it's just, I'd never really thought about it before." Kurama's eyes turned away from his step-father as a small frown furrowed his brow. "Though, isn't same-sex marriage still illegal here?" he looked up then, his eyes curious, but his expression still a frown.

"Well, yes, and most benefits you would receive from marrying a woman would no longer be available to you, but most of Japan does recognize marriage outside the country in areas that allow it. Therefore, if the two of you wished you could leave the country for a short while to marry then return. Though, the union would still not be legally bound here, it still wouldn't be recognized that the two of you are married," Kazuya gave a quick shrug, "however, it's only a suggestion."

Kurama blinked slowly, he'd heard of the laws when they were passed, but hadn't cared too much to pay them any mind. It seemed odd, though, that Kazuya would bring something like this up considering his views. "Why the interest? I thought you disapproved of my relationship with Hiei."

Kazuya chuckled slowly, "yes, in a way, I do, but I also want to see you happy, and if being with Hiei is what makes you happy, I'm willing to overlook my views."

Kurama smiled slowly, giving his step-father a grateful nod. "Thank you, father. It means a lot to me, truly."

"Anytime, son." Kazuya then pulled the car into the parking lot of his office building. "Well, we're here. Ready for the meeting?"

Kurama nodded, opening his door and stepping out. "Yes, let's land you that business deal."

"Confidant are we, Shuichi?" Kazuya smirked as Kurama chuckled softly.

"Perhaps just a little, but then again, you couldn't have a better advisor."

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they walked into the build, "remember, the meeting starts at eleven, I expect you to be there before anyone else." Kazuya called as he headed for his office and Kurama left for his own.

"Of course," the two of them parted ways with Kazuya entering an elevator and Kurama heading down a hall. For a short time, until Suichi would be ready to take over for his father, Kurama had been named Kazuya's heir, if anything were to happen to him before Suichi was old enough to take over, Kurama would inherit the company. It wasn't something Kurama had ever seen himself doing, being the head of a large business, but he would do it if he had too. If he could help it, though, he would only work here under Kazuya, and possibly under Suichi if the time ever came. He was content with his position as an advisor, after all he had quite a bit of experience in such a position. He could thank his old friend, Yomi, for that.

"Why, hello there, Shuichi."

Kurama had to resist the urge to sigh heavily as Ayano, by far Kazuya's most flirtatious secretary, walked up to him. Her voice was a smooth purr as she spoke and her eyes were half-lidded as if under some spell. Kurama didn't have to look at her to know that a heavy lust was glistening in her deep blue gaze.

"Greetings, Ayano. What brings you here?" Kurama found that he had to force the annoyance from his voice, there was no need to cause trouble with giving her the wrong impression, and it was even worse to give her the right one.

"Nothing much, just thought you could use a stress reliever. After all you've got a big meeting coming up, no need to go in tense is there?" a smirk slid across the woman's face as she closed the distance between herself and Kurama, her long delicate fingers walking up his chest as she stood to the side of him.

"I'm afraid, I'm not interested," Kurama closed his eyes to keep from glaring at her. "Besides, I more important business to attend to than your lustful endeavors."

"Ah!" she gasped as she glared at him lowly, "well aren't you a mood killer?" she snorted as she snuck a hand into his pocket. "At the very least take this with you, if I can't get the icing I can at least take the cake."

Kurama rose a brow at the odd phrasing and pulled the item Ayano had just slipped into his pocket out so that he could view it. A small box wrapped in brightly colored paper, from the smell it was no doubt chocolate. "I'm sorry, Ayano, but I can't accept this."

"And why not? Is it not rude to not take what is offered to you?" she hissed her eyes narrowing.

"Well, yes, in some instances. However, I can not accept this for two reasons. One; doing so would only boost your ego, and make you think you have higher chances with me. But might I add, it'll be a cold day in hell before I ever consider sleeping with you, Ayano. And two; I'm allergic."

With that said, Kurama walked away leaving Ayano to gawk after him.

* * *

After leaving Kurama's house, Hiei headed for Genkai's temple. He honestly didn't know why the idea had popped into his head in the first place, it wasn't like him to want to participate in human affairs. But something about what Kurama had said stuck with him, and now he was on his way to the temple to find his sister. He was sure she could help him with this, after all he doubted that Genkai herself did most of the work now, not when Yukina was more than willing to jump in and do whatever she could. Plus he remembered hearing something from Kurama that everyone was supposed to gather at Genkai's temple for one of their 'get togethers'. This should only prove to help in his cause.

Flitting through the forest that surrounded the temple grounds, Hiei made it to the temple fairly quickly. Landing in front of the door, Hiei debated whether or not to knock before entering, but just as he went to raise his fist to do so the door swung open to reveal a small child. She looked up at him with bright red eyes and long carrot colored hair that reached just past her waist. It was tied back into a long ponytail with a teal hair band that had red shard-like shapes jutting from it. The smile she offered the fire demon would have been enough to melt even the most hardened of demons' hearts.

"Hello, Akako," Hiei returned her smile, as she suddenly launched herself at him. He caught her with ease bringing her up so that her little arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He held her there as he walked into the temple, content that he was indeed welcome there from the girl's reaction.

"Mommy?" Akako called out as she pulled her face away from Hiei's neck, "Mommy! Mommy, come quickly, uncle Hiei is here!"

Hiei sighed as Yukina quickly appeared from the corner, her own ruby eyes alight with tears of clear happiness. It had been little more than a year since Hiei had last visited the temple. Not for simply not wanting to come, but because he'd been too busy with the patrol and all.

"Hello, sister," Hiei greeted softly, as Yukina followed her daughter's actions by lunging at her brother. Slender arms wrapping tightly around both Hiei and Akako.

"Hiei! Oh, how are you? How have you been? Mukuro hasn't been working you too hard has she?" Hiei could have laughed at his sister's enthusiasm, but it was comforting to know she cared so much.

"I'm fine, I've been fine, and no." His answers were short and to the point. No need to be beating around the bush, after all he was here for a reason.

"Oh," Yukina laughed softly for a moment before she realized something was missing. "Where's Kurama?"

Hiei rolled his eyes, she should have known where he was, after all she spent more time with the fox than he did recently. "At his job, if I'm not mistaken it was the reason he couldn't come to this little 'get together'."

"Oh, that's right," she bonked herself lightly on the head as if she only just realized it was a stupid question. "Anyway, everyone else is already here. I'm sure they'll all be really happy to see you." With that Yukina lead Hiei through the temple and to the back. After their last gathering ending in one section of the temple needing to be completely rebuilt it was decided that from then on they would all gather out back to prevent from damaging anything too bad.

Still holding Akako tightly in his grasp, Hiei stepped out the door to find that they had a full house. By 'everyone' Yukina had literally meant everyone. Yusuke, Keiko, Kuwabara, Shizuru, Botan, Koenma, and even the ogre George was there. Genkai was sat off to the side, the content smile on her face showing that, for once, she was enjoying herself around her apprentice's group of friends.

"Hey look, it's ol' three eyes!" Yusuke called out as he spotted Hiei, "long time no see, man, where you been?"

Hiei smirked as he set Akako down, she immediately ran over to her father, who welcomed her with open arms and a lopsided grin. At times, Hiei really hated that his niece had inherited that buffoon's hair color, but he could live with it, as thankfully that was all she got from him.

"Nowhere," Hiei answered Yusuke's question as he walked down to join them. He didn't fail to notice the shiny ring that now donned the former detective's hand.

"Oh, yeah, Urameshi, how's it feel to be a married man?" Kuwabara asked suddenly as he came to sit beside Hiei and his best friend. Akako giggled happily as her father bounced her up and down lightly on his knee.

"I dunno, doesn't feel much different, but it does have its perks if you know what I mean." Yusuke smirked wickedly as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Urameshi! That's not something you talk about out loud!" Kuwabara said loudly as he pointed an accusing finger at his friend, "besides, my daughter's right here!"

"Chill man, it's not like I'm giving away any details. Though, I will say one thing, Keiko is a totally different girl once you get her in bed." Yusuke grinned as he glanced over toward his wife to make sure she wasn't looking, but she wasn't even there. In fact, none of the girls were. "Hey, man, where'd the girls go?" he called over to Koenma as he walked over to join them.

"To the kitchen, something about it was time to make chocolate or something like that. To be honest, I never really understood these human world holidays, but Botan insisted so I had to come with her."

"Oh," Yusuke looked dumbfounded for a moment before turning back to Kuwabara, "anyway, you're one to talk, Kuwabara, you got Yukina knocked up and I don't see a ring on your finger. At least me and Keiko waited until after the bells chimed."

"Hey, we're working on it! It wasn't my fault, I didn't know she would get pregnant after one little night together."

"Hn," Hiei snorted, drawing Kuwabara's attention toward himself. "If you had bothered to listen to anything someone had told you, you would have known that Koorime are very fertile creatures. It only took my mother one night to become pregnant with twins, I'm surprised that Akako is the only child you made my sister give birth to."

"Made? Hey, Yukina wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with her! Akako is the result of our love for each other!" Kuwabara glared daggers at the fire demon, but he hardly seemed to notice.

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that, man. You're lucky Yukina hasn't dumped your ass to the curb yet." Yusuke teased, successfully making the carrot-top forget all about Hiei.

Hiei didn't hear anything after that as he snuck away quietly. As much as he enjoyed swapping war stories with his friends, he needed the girls' help. He wandered back into the temple, with the last thing he heard of his friends was Yusuke's signature spirit gun going off. Hiei had to smirk at the idea, the buffoon deserved it. Hiei loved Akako, and wouldn't trade her for anything in the world, but if he'd had a choice in the matter, if he hadn't been in the Makai at the time it happened and if Yukina hadn't ended up pregnant from it, Kuwabara would have just been a pile of cinders by then.

"Uncle Hiei?" Akako's small voice called out as she came up to tug lightly at Hiei's cloak. "Can I come with you? Daddy and Uncle Yusuke are fighting again, and Mommy said I could help make daddy's gift."

Hiei signed, and lowered down to one knee. "Alright, kiddo. But will you help Uncle Hiei make his own gift?"

"Yeah!" the girl cried jumping into the fire demon's waiting arms. For whatever reason, Akako had been born without any powers. She had neither demon nor spirit energy, but she was able to tell when Yusuke and Kuwabara were fighting simply from their movements even though she couldn't see anything. It was an oddity that neither Genkai nor Koenma could explain. Despite her father being the most power human being on earth, and her mother being a rare Koorime, the girl hadn't inherited any of their powers. And so far she hadn't shown any signs of fire power either, so it was clear she wasn't going to inherit anything from her uncle. Much to the fire demon's disappointment. He'd have really enjoyed teaching her how to use such power against her dear ol' daddy.

"Is this gift for Uncle Kurama?" Akako's question seemed to appear out of nowhere, causing Hiei to turn widened crimson eyes on her. For a moment, he wondered how he could answer, in the end he decided the truth was best.

"Yes, actually, it is. How did you know, though? It could have been for Miss Mukuro." Hiei turned a corner and walked down a hall, the sound of Botan's giggling told him he was on the right track to the kitchen.

"I can tell," Akako smiled warmly at her uncle as she tapped his cheek lightly with a finger. At times, it was easy to forget that she was only four. "Besides, you love Uncle Kurama more than you like Miss Mukuro. You wouldn't come back as often as you do if you didn't." Yes, it was really easy to forget her age sometimes.

"Hn," was Hiei's only response as he walked through the door to the kitchen. The moment he walked in he was nearly knocked back from the smell. The rich scent of chocolate filled the entire room, along with various spices and other such things the girls were adding to their concoctions.

"Hi, Mommy!" Akako called as she jumped down from Hiei's arms and ran over to her mother, grinning widely. "Uncle Hiei wants to make a gift for Uncle Kurama, can we help him?"

Yukina looked up at her brother and offered one of her blinding smiles. "Of course," she picked up her daughter and walked over to stand in front of Hiei, "what is it you'd like to make? I assume chocolate would be the choice, but what kind? There are three types, white, dark and milk."

"Oh, and don't forget cherry!" Botan's voice spoke up as she appeared from behind a counter. Keiko was close behind her holding a large mixing bowl.

"But, Botan, I thought we explained this to you already, cherry is just a favoring it's not an actual type of chocolate." Keiko shook her head at her friend before she turned her dark brown gaze on the fire demon. "Do you know if there is a certain type he likes? Yusuke prefers dark with almonds so that's what I'm making him."

Hiei's head was spinning. He didn't understand a word they were saying, all he got out of all that was, chocolate, cherry, dark, milk, and Yusuke. And none of those things seemed to go together in his mind. It would seem his confusion had shown clearly on his face as all of the girls suddenly started laughing. Even Akako giggled at the funny face her uncle made.

"We'll take that as a 'no'." Keiko giggled as she sat the mixing bowl down and walked over to stand next to Yukina. "Is there anything at all you could tell us about what you might be looking for?" she asked slowly as if talking to a child while Hiei regained control of his derailing thoughts. Oddly enough he didn't seem to mind the treatment he was getting from them.

"No," he said as he looked around, staring at anything but the two girls in front of him.

"Okay then, I suppose anything could work as long as it's from you, right?" Yukina asked as she reached out to tap Hiei lightly on the shoulder.

"I don't know," Hiei frowned, beginning to get annoyed at the fact that they were treating him gently. "I just thought you could help me make one of these 'chocolate gifts', so I came. I don't know what he likes, or what I'm looking for. I am not female, I don't see things the way you do."

"Well that is true," Botan spoke up coming to stand in front of Hiei, forming a line of girls blocking him off from the rest of the kitchen. "If you sudden did come out as female, I would wonder where..."

"Continue that thought, and you'll lose yours." Botan snapped her mouth shut, eyes going wide as she suddenly gave out a nervous laugh.

"Yes, um... Oh, is that my timer going off?" she asked no one in particular as she came up with an excuse to go back over to the counter and stove. Hiei watched her go lazily, before turning his gaze back to Keiko and Yukina.

"Don't worry, brother," Yukina spoke up with a warm smile, as she set Akako down to the floor and turned to follow Botan's example of going back to the stove. "We'll help you make something that Kurama will love."

With that said, the girls, along with Hiei, went back to work making the chocolates they would give to their loved ones. Needless to say, the only thing Hiei proved to be any help in, was melting particularly stubborn cocoa and keeping Akako out of trouble, which Yukina was thankful for.

A couple of hours later found Hiei back with Yusuke and the boys, he'd eventually gotten tired of the constant giggling Botan had a mean habit of making and it seemed as if it were contagious as soon all three girls were laughing and making marry. Which was something Hiei couldn't stand. No matter how much he wanted this gift for the fox, and no matter how much he loved his sister and niece, there was only so much he could take when it came to females and their bubbly ways. So in the end he left, telling them they could do as they wanted with the chocolate as long as it was good enough for Kurama, and headed back outside with Akako on his hip.

"Dude, you look like a housewife!" had been Yusuke's comment when the fire demon stepped out the door. Seemed he had forgotten to take the apron the girls had made him put on off. And the fact that Akako was on settled on his hip didn't really help his image any. Hiei chose to both address and ignore Yusuke as he set Akako down who immediately ran over to the phoenix Puu, climbing up onto the large bird's back as he laid next to his demon half. Puu hardly seemed to mind, though, because as soon as Akako slid down his back like a slide he would pick her up and place at the base of his neck to do it all again. All the while appearing to laugh just as much as she was.

"If anyone is a housewife it's you, detective," Hiei said as he took the apron off and laid it down on the porch's banister before walking over to stand next to Yusuke. Kuwabara was off to the side talking with Genkai while Koenma was who knew where, and Hiei hadn't seen George since he'd got there. "You should see Keiko, she's in there slaving away to make you a worthless piece of candy which you'll have wolfed down in a matter of seconds. And all for the sake that she loves you, you'd better be thankful."

"Jeez man, lighten up it was a joke. And besides where did this come from? Since when did you care about me and Keiko?" Yusuke asked as he spared a quick glance at Akako as she played around with Puu, the phoenix seemed to sense Yusuke's gaze and returned it with a happy call of 'puu'.

"I don't, just thought you should know just how much your wife loves you is all." Hiei lowered himself into a sit, pulling one knee up so that he could place his elbow on it while he rested his chin in his palm.

"I know, man. Trust me, I know." Yusuke smiled wistfully. "I'm just glad I came back when I did, because, from her little speech, she seemed just about ready to give up on me."

"Hn," Hiei let his eyes drift closed, he was content enough that a nice nap wouldn't hurt anyone.

"So, what about you and 'Miss Mukuro', huh? You two going steady or what?" Yusuke nudged Hiei in the side with his elbow. At the look he received from the fire demon, the former detective had to frown. "What? Things not work out? I was sure you two would make it official after that battle of yours in the first demon tournament."

"No," Hiei responded lowly, as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he hated what he and Mukuro did. He hated that he always found himself back in her arms, in her bed, no matter how hard he tried to stay away. The fire demon just hoped it was something Kurama would never learn about. "And are you blind, detective? Or are you just too stupid to see what's in front of you?"

"What?" Yusuke made an odd look at the question. "Of course, I'm not blind. And what are you getting at Three eyes cause you've lost me."

"He's saying that he likes Kurama! Jeez, you're dense, Urameshi." Kuwabara announced his presence in the most bluntest way possible. "Have you not seen the way they look at each other? Hell, even Mukuro could see it at the last tournament that they weren't really fighting in their battle last year."

"Uh, huh?" Yusuke looked dumbfounded for a moment. "Are you serious? You and Fox-boy?" Yusuke pointed a finger at Hiei, to which the fire demon just shrugged. He didn't have to confirm that claim, but he wasn't going to deny it either. After all if he were to, he'd be lying.

"Why don't you ask him yourself when you see him?" Hiei asked as he let his eyes drift closed once more. He was done talking for the time being. If Yusuke really wanted to know of the relationship he held with Kurama, he should just ask the fox himself. It wasn't that Hiei didn't want his friends to know about it, it was simply that he wasn't sure how to explain it to them without it sounding complicated. Kurama would have a much better chance of explaining it so that their limited brain cells could pick up on what was being said. Though, from Yusuke's next words it didn't appear as though it would be necessary.

"Huh, it was always kinda there wasn't it?" the half-demon asked as he looked up at Kuwabara, it was clear the gears were turning in Yusuke's head as he thought the possibility over.

"Well, duh! It was clear there was something between them even way back during the Dark Tournament, I'm surprised you never saw it!" Kuwabara shook his head slowly. It would seem the oaf had grown a brain in the past year and a half. "Though, I only just realized that recently. Looking back on it, heh. Oh, what the heck, I never noticed it either, I only just now realized when Genkai mentioned why Hiei was even here." Okay, Hiei took that statement back. He was still an oaf with no brain.

"See!" Yusuke shouted suddenly, causing Puu to cry out with surprise making Akako lose her balance and fall into Yusuke's lap. "Oh, hey kiddo, dropping in to say hello?" he grinned at her as she giggled happily.

"Hello, Uncle Yusuke!" Yusuke ruffled her carrot-colored hair for a moment before handing her off to her father, who sat her firmly in his lap.

"Anyway, yeah. See, I'd have never guessed Fox-boy swung that way, I mean sure, he plays with flowers and has that really nice long hair, and he kinda looks like a girl, and... Oh damn, why didn't I see this sooner?" Hiei couldn't help the chuckle that left him at that. It was just too damn funny. "Oh, shut up, Three Eyes!" Yusuke yelled, sending a glare toward the fire demon whose eyes were still closed. He was watching them with his Jagan while he let the rest of his mind and body relax.

After that the topic changed and Hiei simply let them be, fully succumbing to the beckon of sleep.

* * *

Kurama resisted the urge to yawn as he forced his eyes back open for the twelfth time that day. He had come into this meeting ready to kick some metaphorical ass and help his step-father land the deal he'd been working on for the past three months. Now he was just trying to keep from falling asleep in his chair. The first hour and a half of the meeting had gone on fine, each of Kazuya's colleagues spoke their opinions and Kazuya considered each of them. Then the business for which the deal was being made spoke their opinions and Kurama was able to point out some faults in their reasonings and add his own thoughts on the matters. But that was the first hour.

The meeting had now been going on for the past four, and really all the former youko wanted to do now was go home and curl up in his bed. Next to his warm and cuddly fire demon if he was lucky enough. Unfortunately for him he still had to brave whatever it was this 'Jacob' guy had to say on why the deal wouldn't work. Everything they came up with, Kurama found a fault that could be exploited. And even for someone so used to being ahead of every situation, even Kurama could get bored when things continued to drag on over the same topics over and over again.

"Bored, red?" a voice asked, drawing Kurama's lazy emerald gaze toward them. He found that it was just Miyako, another of Kazuya's secretaries. Luckily, while she too had made hints at wanting to take the redhead to dinner, she wasn't as direct as others and likely the only one Kurama could actually put up with.

"Yes, actually. You'd think they would have given up by now," he sighed as he leaned slightly toward her, his voice lowered so that he wouldn't interrupt the man that was speaking.

"You're telling me, I'm tired of fetching coffee for these gluttons. I just wanna go home so I can feed my dog, I bet he's going crazy right about now." She chuckled lowly, her head shaking lightly as if to clear it of a mental image.

"A dog, really? I didn't know you owned any pets," Kurama was too bored to care that they were completely off topic of what the meeting was about anymore, he was just glad to have something to focus on. "As for me, I just wanna go home and sleep, I never thought I would miss my lopsided bed so much."

Miyako chuckled lightly at that, "yeah, a mean little shit who just happens to be a lab mix, and you're telling me, red. Oh, hey, by the way, this is for you," she began to fish inside her pocket, before pulling something out and sliding it to Kurama under the table they both sat at.

The youko took hold of it and pulled it out far enough to look at it, he resisted the urge to sigh when he found that it was another neatly wrapped box of chocolate. "I'm very sorry, Miyako, but I can't accept this." He said beginning to hand it back.

The girl chuckled lowly shaking her head. "Oh no, I didn't make it, don't worry," she smirked, jerking her head lightly. "It's store bought."

Kurama resisted the urge to laugh along with her. "No, I mean, I really can't. I'm allergic to chocolate."

Miyako rose a brown brow as her mouth made a small 'o'. "Oh," was all she said before breaking into a big smile. "So that's the reason all those chocolates that I ever give to you here were thrown out in the trash the next day. Hmm, and here I just thought it was my cooking." She laughed before hitting him lightly in the shoulder. "Why didn't you say anything before, stud?"

Kurama frowned at the nickname but shrugged his shoulders lightly. He glanced toward the other participants of the meeting to find that they were still preoccupied with going back and forth. "Because I never felt it was relevant. Though, it would have saved me the trouble of having to pick through all those gifts I got during high-school." He chuckled lightly before someone at the other end of the table called his name. "We'll have to talk again later, Miyako."

"Sure," she nodded once and stood as someone asked her for a coffee which she rolled her eyes at. "Coming right up, Mr. Tsubasa."

Afterward, the meeting when on as normal, Kurama's boredom spell had left him for the time being and he was able to get on with the meeting. Two hours later and the fox was finally able to walk out of the meeting hall with a proud smile on his face. As soon as he spotted Kazuya he walked over to him. "We did it, father, I told you we would."

Kazuya laughed lightly nodding his head. "Yes, yes you did. Now come on, what do you say we call it early today and head home?"

"Please," Kurama spoke, sounding exhausted. Kazuya laughed once more.

"Then, let's get out of here."

* * *

"Hiei."

The fire demon's mind was in that place between awake and sleep where the outside world could be heard, but was transferred into the dreams of the sleeper. In his mind, Hiei was with his fox, continuing on from where they had been interrupted earlier in the day by Kurama's human parents. Hiei felt the light shake that was given to him as a means of waking him, but his half-conscious mind converted it into something much less appropriate than what was actually being done. Dream!Hiei let out a shuttered sigh that managed to work its way out into the real world, what came out of the real Hiei sounded more like a half-sigh half-moan, however.

"Hiei, time to wake up now." Yukina spoke softly as she tried to shake him once more. He had been asleep for the past three hours, and it was high time he headed home. Everyone else already had, except for Kazuma.

"Hn, not yet, fox." Hiei murmured sleepily as he shifted lightly. His nose wrinkled slightly and his brow furrowed, but it clearly wasn't a look of pain. In Hiei's dream, it was one of the rare times where Kurama took the dominant role that was usually natural for his species. Despite what most people would think, while Hiei was naturally the more aggressive of the two, it wasn't unheard of for him to find himself on his knees with Kurama behind him. In fact, Hiei actually rather enjoyed those instances, rare as they may be.

"Huh, what do you think he's dreaming about?" Kuwabara asked as he looked down at the fire demon with a raised brow.

"I don't know," Yukina shrugged light, "but whether he likes it or not he's got to get up. It's getting late, and I'm sure Kurama would be getting off work by now." She leaned down once more and this time added a little more force to it as she shook his shoulder once more. "Come on, brother, it's time to wake up."

Being in that odd place between sleep and awake was always weird because everything around the sleeper was inserted into their dreams. And it was no different for the fire demon. In his mind, all movement had stopped as he considered what was going on. Where the hell did that damn oaf come from? And since when did Kurama call him brother? Hiei blinked once to try and clear his mind, but when he opened his eyes again he was no longer in Kurama's room. Instead, he found himself laying on the ground at Genkai's temple. A quick glance told him where the voices in his head were coming from as he caught sight of his sister and her soon-to-be-not-to-be deep fried lover.

"Oh good, you're finally awake." Yukina smiled down at him as Hiei slowly sat up. His vision was still blurry and he didn't trust his voice not to come out slurred, so he only nodded in response.

"Musta been some dream you were having, Shorty. I can only imagine what it might of been," Kuwabara said as he bent over to get a better look at the fire demon. Hiei could feel his body temperature start raising as he transferred his energy into his hand. "From the sounds you were making it musta been something painful. What, can you not take winning so much, so you get beat up in your sleep?"

Hiei's whole body went limp at that statement. Could this brain-dead moron really not tell the difference between a pained moan and a pleasured one? How he'd ever managed to get Yukina pregnant was beyond the fire demon. Then again, the sounds one made while asleep usually didn't match the ones they made in real life, so Hiei couldn't really say anything. He took a few more moments for his mind to fully chase away any lingering sleep as he rubbed one eye lazily.

"How long was I out?" he asked slowly as he looked up at his sister.

"For about three hours," she giggled softly at the look that crossed his face, "everyone else went home, and Akako is in the game room with Genkai. We tried waking you before, but you wouldn't budge so we just let you be."

Hiei frowned for a moment, before glancing at the sky. The sun was in that place just before it started to set. It wasn't quite setting, but it was obviously past noon. "Hn," the fire demon snorted as he rose to his feet, Yukina stepped forward to help him fix his scarf which had become disheveled in his sleep. Her fingers lightly brushed the chain to his tear gem, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Here," she spoke softly as she reached into her kimono and pulled something out. Taking it from her, Hiei glanced down to find that it was a small wrapped box with small flaming hearts on it. "Your gift to Kurama. Yusuke painted the hearts, he said it didn't look right with just plain red paper. Who knew he was such a good artist." She laughed softly, before looking up at him with a smile.

"Hn," Hiei snorted looking at the box once more before turning his crimson gaze back on her. He blinked at the look, he knew what it meant. While he could usually stay there as long as he wanted, Yukina was silently telling him he needed to head back to Kurama's. Giving a sharp nod to her, he glanced at Kuwabara to make sure he wasn't looking before giving his sister a soft smile. "Farewell, sister."

"Bye, brother."

With that, he was gone. Flitting into the forest and heading back toward the city.

* * *

Hiei landed on the tree branch silently. The only sign that he was even there was the slight rustle of the leaves as they were disturbed slightly from the shock of the suddenly added weight. In the time it took him to get from the temple to Kurama's window the sun had begun to sink below the horizon, leaving the sky a mirage of colors. Bright blues danced with deep hues of yellows and oranges before leaking into the vibrant reds that circled around the slowly disappearing star. It was a beautiful sight, even if it was partly cut off by the nearby city buildings.

Hiei stared at it for a minute, watching as scattered pink clouds drifted slowly across the maze of colors. His attention was shifted away from it, however, as movement from inside the window next to him caught his eye. Looking up he found Kurama stepping into the room from the adjoined bathroom, his usually bright red hair was stained a few shades darker from the liquid that had yet to dry from it. He had obviously just gotten out of the shower. He must have dressed in the bathroom as well, for he wore a pair of casual pale colored dressy-type pants with a collared button-up that was a few shades darker than the pants.

Hiei found himself simply staring for a few moments before Kurama looked up from brushing his hair to motion him in. Hiei knew the window was open, it was always open, but it had become a custom for him to wait for Kurama's approval before he would enter. It was sort of an unspoken agreement between the two of them after an incident that had occurred before they had officially gotten together. At that point, they were still on shaky terms with one another and that particular instance hadn't ended well for either of them. However, Hiei was sure Kurama had gotten more backlash after Shiori came home to find a slashed up couch cushion and a broken kitchen chair. Hiei had left long before the human woman ever got home, so he still wasn't entirely sure how Kurama had managed to worm his way out of that one. Not that it really mattered much now.

Hiei lightly shook his head clear of the memory before pushing the window open and stepping inside. He stood by the window, hands in his pockets, as he was content to simply watch his lover finish the chore of styling his hair.

"Hello, Hiei," Kurama said, as he set the brush he was using on the nightstand. "How has your day been? Better than mine, I hope." He chuckled light at the brow Hiei rose at the comment.

"Fine, I suppose. I went to visit Yukina. Though, it seems everyone else decided today would be a good day to go as well as everyone was there, and I mean everyone." Hiei walked over to sit on the end of the bed, one leg brought up to rest underneath him while the other hung lazily off the side. "The detective finally settled down, by the way. The oaf was teasing him about it."

"Oh really? Hmm, that must have taken place recently," Kurama said thoughtfully, they must not have told him about the event, else he wouldn't have acted so surprised. "Perhaps during my trip to the Makai a few weeks ago? It would make sense seeing as I never got an invite to such an event, and have had yet to be informed of it." Hiei only shrugged in response, he didn't know, nor care. Though he did believe it was about time the detective made his claim on the girl.

"I dunno, I've been in the Makai for almost two years straight. I've lost track of the happenings in this world of humans, not that I care much." Hiei huffed a sigh, his eyes showing off a lazy expression. He still hadn't worked off the last of the sleep from his body, and the fact that he was able to relax so easily around Kurama didn't help the matter.

"Yes, it is odd, in a way. I've almost forgotten that you'd been gone so long before. Having you back for a week or so has made it seem like you never left... Funny, isn't it?" Kurama smiled wistfully, his expression soft as he likely thought back to Hiei's absence.

"Hn," Hiei looked away from the fox at that, he didn't know what to say in response. If he could have helped it he wouldn't have been gone as long as he had, but there had been a heighten in humans overstepping the border. While most of the other members of the patrol could have handled it, Hiei was the only one capable of erasing a human's memory without the need for an operation. So he'd had to stay there longer than he'd thought. On top of it all, Mukuro had told the fire demon a nasty lie that almost forced him into not leaving. When Hiei found out it wasn't true he had a few choice words with the demoness and high-tailed it out of her domain, returning to the living world for a week or so, before he found himself crawling back and apologizing to her. That had been little over a year ago.

The next time Hiei left for the living world had been during Kurama's trip to the Makai, when they had run into each other while Kurama had entered through a border breach that happened to be near where the patrol was at the time. Hiei had offered to accompany the fox during his travels but was turned down. When Kurama returned from wherever he'd went, he asked Hiei to return home with him and the fire demon had agreed. He'd been back in the living world for little over two weeks now.

"How was Akako?" Kurama asked suddenly. Successfully drawing Hiei's mind back to reality and toward himself. "I've afraid I haven't been able to go to Genkai's temple recently, work has been a great hassle." Kurama chuckled lightly to himself, as Hiei just nodded in understanding.

"She's fine, as rowdy as ever, but fine. She seemed really excited to see me." Hiei resisted the urge to snort, as much as he loved his niece, she really could come off as a great annoyance at times. "If it were up to her I would never leave and I would probably move in at the temple. Also, she appears to have an obsession with frozen chocolate."

Kurama laughed softly at the image that appeared in his head at that. He could just imagine the girl indulging herself in some of the frozen sweet. "I'm honestly upset I had missed out then. It seems, much like it does everything nowadays, work got in the way of my personal life once more." Kurama sighed softly as he looked away from Hiei and toward the far wall of his room. "Perhaps I should ask for some time off."

"Here."

"Huh?" Kurama had been so lost in his own thoughts that he had momentary forgot about Hiei. The fire demon's sudden vocalization had drawn Kurama back to earth with a slight shock. Looking up, Kurama found Hiei offering him something. He looked from Hiei to the offered item then back again before slowly reaching up to take it. "What is it, Hiei?" he asked slowly, taking the item from the smaller male and looking it over.

"A gift." Hiei said bluntly, before rethinking his answer. "It's for you, for that human holiday you spoke of." He stared at Kurama expectantly, waiting patiently for the fox's reaction.

"You mean for Valentines?" Kurama asked slowly as he looked down at the item in his hand, upon inspection he realized it was a small wrapped box much like the one Miyako had offered him earlier in the day.

"Yes," Hiei said slowly, suddenly not able to look at the fox. "Though, I didn't make it myself, I had Yukina do it. And the detective painted the hearts, at least that's what Yukina said anyway."

Kurama smiled warmly at the thought that Hiei had gone out of his way to get him this gift, even going so far as to ask his sister for help. "Thank you, Hiei," Kurama said as he leaned forward to press his lips lightly to the fire demon's cheek. "However," he added softly as he pulled away, the tone in his voice caused Hiei to look up in slight concern, did he not like the gift? Or worse not want it? "I'm afraid, I won't be able to enjoy this," he lifted the box slightly. He looked ready to continue, but Hiei cut him off.

"Hn, should have known it would be a waste of my time." He made a move to stand, but Kurama's hand shot out to stop him.

"No, Hiei. You didn't let me finish." Kurama blinked at him with bright emeralds, and the fire demon almost let himself get lost in them, but he turned his head way.

"What's the point, Kurama? It's obvious that my time was wasted on it, so why should I stay?" Hiei asked, not looking at him. His voice was a mix of anger and something else that the fox couldn't place. If he dared to go there it almost sounded like sorrow.

"Hiei," Kurama spoke slowly as he stood, keeping the fire demon's wrist in his grip so that he couldn't get away. "I never said that I didn't want, nor like it. I merely said I won't be able to enjoy it. And the simple fact of the matter is that I won't be able to enjoy it because I can't eat it."

Hiei almost dared not ask, for fear it would only want him to leave even more. It was comforting to know that Kurama at least was somewhat grateful for the gift, no matter not little it may be. "Why can't you eat it?" he finally gave in, putting a voice to the question running through his head.

"Because I'm allergic to chocolate." The fox said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The tone caused Hiei to frown and finally look at him fully. Kurama laughed lightly at the expression before continuing. "I'm grateful for this, very much so! In fact, I love this gift Hiei, because it was from you. I'm honestly a little upset myself that I won't be able to enjoy it the way it was meant to be."

Hiei turned his gaze toward the ground, the tension in his shoulders releasing as he slowly let himself relax. He looked back up at Kurama with a look that was far more innocent than the demon whose face it donned. "So, you do like it?" it even sounded childish in his head, but at the moment he didn't care.

"Yes, Hiei, I love it. And if you don't mind, I like would it even more if you would eat it for me. No point in something like this going to waste when it shouldn't have to." Kurama held the small box out for the fire demon to take. When he hesitated, Kurama offered a reassuring smile. "I'm sure, Hiei. Take it."

Hiei slowly reached out with his free hand and took the chocolate from the fox. "And if I said I didn't like chocolate?"

"I'd know you were lying," Kurama smirked at the look that crossed the fire demon's face. "Hiei neither me nor mother are ignorant enough to think that the chocolate ice cream simply disappears on its own. I can't eat it and Kazuya doesn't like it, so that leaves you and Suichi. And trust me, if that boy even eats one bowl full he's bouncing off walls. I'd hate to imagine what he would be like if he ate a whole carton."

"Hn," Hiei looked away, his cheeks coloring lightly at the fact that he'd been caught. Instead of saying anything in response however, Hiei simply placed himself back on the bed and began to unwrap the box.

"I'll be back in a moment, Hiei. You enjoy that, okay?" the fire demon nodded and Kurama smiled as he left the room. While he was gone he told his mother that Hiei was there. She only nodded her head knowingly and told him to try and not make too much noise to which he blushed a bright red with a choked exclaim of 'mother'. Shiori only laughed and told him she was teasing, and Kurama was reminded of the fact that he'd never get his mother sense of humor.

After a few more words with her, he headed back to his room to find Hiei still sat on the bed, only he was licking melted chocolate from his fingers. "I take it the chocolate was good?" the fox asked as he wrinkled his nose slightly at the scent. It must have been flavored with mint, which only served to make him feel even worse that he wasn't able to enjoy it himself.

Hiei nodded his head in response, too busy cleaning his fingers free of the now liquidy sweet to answer. He watched as Kurama closed the door behind him and slowly turned the lock until a light 'click' sounded. Swiping his tongue across the pad of his thumb a couple more times Hiei smirked at the look that slowly clouded the fox's eyes. He had been about to go a step farther but thought better of it. Deeming his fingers clean he lowered his hand and opted to swipe his tongue across his mouth instead. "What did your mother have to say?" he asked as Kurama settled down next to him.

"Not much I'm afraid. She told me to tell you hello, and then proceeded to tease me." Kurama sighed giving his head a shake. Hiei only smirked.

"Hn, sounds like her."

"Yes, it does." Kurama laughed lightly. "Anyway, you didn't answer my question, how was the chocolate?"

"Fine, I suppose. Could have been done without the mint." Kurama chuckled softly. "What are you laughing at, fox? You can't even eat it so you have nothing to say!"

The attempt only seemed to make the fox laugh harder. "No, you're right, I can't. Still, that doesn't make it any less funny. Besides, I happen to like mint."

"Hn," was all he got in response.

Silence fell between them then, and both were simply content to enjoy the other's company. Hiei made a show of removing his scarf and draping it over the end of the bed. With that motion alone, Kurama knew the fire demon had no intentions to leave. It had been a while since Hiei had spent the night, the last time had nearly ended disastrously when Suichi had almost walked in on them as Hiei was retrieving his discarded clothing from the night before. Kurama had had the door locked thankfully, but the sudden jar of the handle had made Hiei forget his clothes and flash into the bathroom to hide until Kurama could get rid of his nosy little brother.

"Hiei?" Kurama called suddenly, causing Hiei to turn toward him, a relaxed expression on his face.

"Yeah, fox?" he answered, his weight shifted to one side as he lounged on one arm.

Kurama moved closer to him and slowly began to lean over him. "I know White Day isn't for another month, but would you allow me to return the gift now?" From his position, Kurama appeared to be hovering above the fire demon and his long silky hair slid off one shoulder to fall in a wave of red at his side. Hiei couldn't help himself and reached up with his free hand to run his fingers through it, tucking a stray strand back behind the fox's ear.

"Do as you wish, fox. I don't care." That was all the reassurance Kurama needed as he descended upon the smaller yokai. Slowly closing the distance between them as he pushed his lips into Hiei's.

Some time later, while the two were lounging in the afterglow of their activities, Kurama sighed contently as he rested his head in the juncture where Hiei's neck met his shoulder. The fire demon himself had his nose buried in the red river that was the fox's hair. From his relaxed demeanor, it was clear that he was beginning to succumb to the lull of sleep.

"Hiei?" Kurama called softly as he snuggled closer into the warmth that was the fire demon.

"Hn?" it was both an answer and a question and needed no words.

"Happy Valentine's day, Hiei. I'm very gratefully that I was able to spend it with you." From the way his words slowly began to drift off toward the end, it was clear he too was letting the call of sleep overtake him.

"Me too," Hiei spoke once he was sure the fox was asleep, a soft smile playing with the fire demon's mouth as he finally let himself follow his lover to the world of dreams. "Happy Valentine's day, fox."


End file.
